Book Image

Effective Platform Product Management

By : Tabassum Memon
Book Image

Effective Platform Product Management

By: Tabassum Memon

Overview of this book

Scaling a platform is a lot different than scaling a product. This is why product managers developing or transitioning to a platform model are often facing completely new challenges – both technical and strategic. But if you want to build the next Amazon, Netflix, Spotify, or a completely new type of platform, then you need to adopt a platform-first approach to change how you invent, develop, and market solutions. This is where Effective Product Platform Management comes in. This book addresses product management as a critical pillar of platform development. It'll help you understand the difference between traditional and modern product management for platforms and even decide whether the platform business model is the way to go for you. As you progress, you’ll be able to build the right platform strategy, define the MVP, and focus on ongoing backlog prioritization for successful platforms. This book will also walk you through the practical steps and guidelines that can ease your organization’s transition from linear products to platforms. By the end of this platform product management book, you’ll have learned the essential aspects of product management for building successful and scalable platforms. You’ll also have a clear understanding of the next steps you need to take to perfect and execute your new platform strategy – and take on the world.
Table of Contents (15 chapters)
1
Section 1: Building the Right Strategy for the Platform Business Model
6
Section 2: Building the Platform
10
Section 3: Measuring the Performance of the Platform

Platform governance model

Any operating model requires governance to track if it is functioning as desired and take corrective measures if needed. The platform operating model is no different. The governance structure should reflect the platform team structure. For example, each team should have a leader who can guide and mentor the team. Apart from the individual team leaders, there must be a lean governance team consisting of a technical head or architect, head of products, and head of BizOps. As the business and the size of the platform grows, we can add the head of the customer experience, head of the infrastructure, and head of the functional capabilities to the governance team. But be careful in creating redundant roles and unnecessary hierarchy.

Apart from the governance team, there are executives and leaders who define the business objectives and strategies. Executives are responsible for setting organizational goals, and they work closely with the governance team to track...